Socialists Are Practical Atheists

“Socialists are practical atheists”—this proposition originates from Engels’s exposition. He wrote: “Among the socialists there are also theorists, or, as the communists call them, thoroughgoing atheists, while the socialists are called practical atheists.”

“社会主义者是实践的无神论者”，这个命题源于恩格斯的论述。他写道：“在社会主义者当中也有理论家，或者，像共产主义者称呼他们的那样，十足的无神论者，而社会主义者则被称为实践的无神论者。”

I believe that in the current theoretical construction of Marxist religious studies, “socialists are practical atheists” is a proposition full of vitality. Practicality is one of the most famous characteristics of Marxist philosophy. In the history of human thought, the Marx quote that historians commonly focus on is: “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” The history of reform and opening up in contemporary China also proves that practice is the necessary path for adapting Marxism to the Chinese context.

我认为，在当前马克思主义宗教学的理论建设中，“社会主义者是实践的无神论者”，是一个富有生命力的命题。实践性是马克思主义哲学最著名的特点之一。在人类思想史上，史学家们共同关注的马克思名言是：“哲学家们只是用不同的方式解释世界，问题在于改变世界。” 当代中国改革开放的历史也证明，实践是马克思主义中国化的必由之路。

Regarding atheism and views on religion, Marx and Engels did not write systematic monographs. While creating the Marxist ideological system, they made many incisive expositions on religious issues. Currently, some scholars who claim to study the Marxist view of religion never mention atheism. In fact, the mature Marx was a firm atheist. This judgment has long been a basic consensus in academic circles both in China and abroad. Marxist atheism permeates many works in philosophy, political economy, history, and other fields, coexisting and co-growing with its overall thought. As the Western scholar Denys Turner pointed out, the essence of Marx’s atheism and view of religion is not limited to his writings that directly discuss religious issues; “his most important expositions are all found in his frequent challenges to religion as a revolutionary socialist.”

关于无神论和宗教观，马克思、恩格斯没有撰写过系统的专著。他们在创建马克思主义思想体系时，对宗教问题有过许多精辟的论述。目前，一些号称研究马克思主义宗教观的学者，绝口不谈无神论。其实，成熟时期的马克思是一位坚定的无神论者。这一论断在中外学术界早已是基本共识。马克思主义的无神论渗透在哲学、政治经济学、历史学等诸多著作中，与其整体思想同生共存。正如西方学者特纳(Denys .Turner )所指出的,马克思无神论和宗教观的精髓，并不局限在他直接论述宗教问题的文字中，“他最重要的论述，全部都在他作为革命的社会主义者对宗教发起的频繁挑战中。”

In today’s world, faced with complex and diverse religious phenomena, Marxist atheism is a powerful ideological weapon for us. With the development of the times, developing its new connotations in the practice of socialism and establishing a sinicized scientific atheism disciplinary system is the historical mission of our generation of scholars.

当今世界，面对复杂纷纭的宗教现象，马克思主义的无神论是我们有力的思想武器。随着时代的发展，在社会主义的实践中发展其新内涵，建立中国化的科学无神论学科体系，是我们这一代学者的历史使命。

I. The Critique of Religion and the Establishment of Historical Materialism

一 宗教的批判与历史唯物主义的创立

The world outlook of Marx and Engels underwent a complex process of turning from idealism to materialism and then establishing historical materialism. It was precisely through the critique of religion that they embarked on the path of historical materialism. In the early theoretical research of Marx and Engels, the exploration of the essence, roots, and social functions of religion became an important growth point in the formation process of historical materialism. Their critique of religion was synchronized with the establishment of historical materialism; the two complemented each other and were inseparable.

马克思、恩格斯的世界观，经历了由唯心主义转向唯物主义，进而创立历史唯物主义的复杂历程。他们正是通过宗教批判走上历史唯物主义道路的。在马克思、恩格斯的早期理论研究中，对宗教的本质、根源和社会功能的探索，成为历史唯物主义形成过程的重要生长点。他们对宗教的批判，与历史唯物主义的创立同步，两者相辅相成，密不可分。

Why did Marx and Engels focus on religious issues in their early theoretical research? From the perspective of the social environment, Christianity was at that time the spiritual pillar maintaining the German social system. From the perspective of their own factors, both were born into families with traditional religious beliefs and were religious believers in their early years. It was precisely by starting from the critique of religion that they embarked on the path of independent thinking. Marx’s doctoral dissertation, titled “The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature,” extensively studied various schools of ancient Greek philosophy, with the most in-depth research on Epicurus. The contemporary scholar David McLellan pointed out that Marx’s doctoral dissertation focused on Epicurus for two factors: first, emphasizing the autonomy of the human spirit, liberating humanity from superstition about transcendent objects; second, emphasizing “the self-consciousness of the free individual.” For Marx, the critique of religion was an important path to realizing self-consciousness.

为什么马克思、恩格斯在早期理论研究中关注宗教问题呢？从社会环境看，当时基督教是维护德国社会制度的精神支柱。从自身因素看，他们都出生在传统宗教信仰的家庭，早年都曾是宗教信仰者。正是从批判宗教出发，他们走上独立思考的道路。马克思的博士论文以《德谟克利特的自然哲学和伊壁鸠鲁的自然哲学的差别》为题，广泛研究古希腊的各种哲学流派，其中对伊壁鸠鲁的研究最为深入。当代学者麦克莱伦指出，马克思的博士论文关注伊壁鸠鲁，有两个因素：一是强调人类精神的自主性，将人类从超验对象的迷信中解放出来；二是强调“自由个体的自我意识。”对马克思而言，宗教批判是实现自我意识的重要路径。

Marx called Epicurus “the greatest Greek Enlightenment thinker” and “a philosopher of self-consciousness.” Later, in “The German Ideology,” co-authored with Engels, he praised Epicurus as “the truly radical enlightener of antiquity, who openly attacked the ancient religion. If the Romans had atheism, it was founded by Epicurus.” In his later years, Engels, in the article “Bruno Bauer and Early Christianity,” highly evaluated Epicurus, pointing out that “the final form of Greek classical philosophy (especially the Epicurean school) developed into atheistic materialism, while Greek vulgar philosophy developed into monotheism and the doctrine of the immortality of the soul.” The enlightenment wisdom in Greek classical philosophy became one of the ideological resources of Marxist atheism.

马克思称伊壁鸠鲁是“最伟大的希腊启蒙思想家”、“自我意识哲学家”。后来，他在与恩格斯合作撰写的《德意志意识形态》中，称赞伊壁鸠鲁是“古代真正激进的启蒙者,他公开地攻击古代的宗教。如果说罗马人有过无神论，那么这种无神论就是由伊壁鸠鲁奠定的。”恩格斯晚年在《布鲁诺•鲍威尔和早期基督教》一文中，高度评价伊壁鸠鲁，指出“希腊古典哲学的最终形式（尤其是伊壁鸠鲁学派），发展为无神论的唯物主义，而希腊的庸俗哲学，则发展为一神论和灵魂不死说。”希腊古典哲学中的启蒙智慧，成为马克思主义无神论的思想资源之一。

With the development of practical activities and theoretical understanding, Marx moved from criticizing religion to criticizing real-world suffering. In 1844, Marx’s “Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction” (hereinafter referred to as the “Introduction”) was published in the “Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher.” This is a landmark work marking Marx’s turn from idealism to materialism. Some scholars now propose that the “Introduction” is not the cornerstone of the Marxist view of religion, opposing Marx’s critique of religion to political critique and economic critique, arguing that “the critique of religion is the prerequisite of all critique” is an idealist view. In today’s academic circles, the “universal value” of religion has become a catchphrase for many well-known scholars, and “the critique of religion” has become a rare voice. I believe it is very necessary to reread Marx’s critique of religion.

随着实践活动和理论认识的发展，马克思从批判宗教，走向批判现实的苦难。1844年，马克思撰写的《〈黑格尔法哲学批判〉导言》（以下简称《导言》）刊登在《德法年鉴》上。这是马克思从唯心主义转向唯物主义的标志性著作。现在有学者提出，《导言》不是马克思主义宗教观的基石，将马克思对宗教的批判，与政治的批判、经济的批判对立起来，认为“对宗教的批判是其他一切批判的前提”是唯心主义的观点。在当今学术界，宗教的“普世价值”成为许多知名学者的口头禅，“对宗教的批判”已成为稀有之声。我认为，很有必要重读马克思对宗教的批判。

The first sentence of Marx’s “Introduction” is: “For Germany, the critique of religion is essentially complete, and the critique of religion is the prerequisite of all critique.” Why was the critique of religion so important in Germany?

马克思在《导言》中的第一句话就是 “就德国来说，对宗教的批判基本上已经结束，而对宗教的批判是其他一切批判的前提。”为什么宗教的批判在德国如此重要呢？

In the early 19th century, when capitalism was flourishing in Britain and France, Germany was still under the rule of the Prussian feudal dynasty. Christianity was the ideology of the German feudal lords at that time and a spiritual shackle hindering social development. Under the autocratic rule of the Prussian feudal dynasty, “politics was a thorny field at that time.” Thus, “the main struggle turned into a struggle against religion.” The theoretical research of the young Marx and Engels began with the critique of religion. The enlightenment thought of the Young Hegelians, especially Feuerbach’s humanist view of religion, stripped away the sacred halo of religion with the sharp pen of atheism. Therefore, Marx said: “For Germany, the critique of religion is essentially complete.”

19世纪初，当英国、法国资本主义蓬勃发展时，德国仍然处于普鲁士封建王朝的统治下。基督教是当时德国封建诸侯的意识形态，是阻碍社会发展的精神桎梏。在普鲁士封建王朝的专制统治下，“政治在当时是一个荆棘丛生的领域”。于是，“主要的斗争就转为反宗教的斗争。”青年马克思、恩格斯的理论研究是从批判宗教开始的。青年黑格尔派的启蒙思想，特别是费尔巴哈的人本主义宗教观，以无神论的犀利笔锋，剥去了宗教的神圣光环。因此，马克思说：“就德国来说，对宗教的批判基本上已经结束”。

As Rosen pointed out, after Marx turned from religious critique to political critique and economic critique, the proposition that “the critique of religion is the prerequisite of all critique” still holds. Marx elaborated:

正如罗森所指出的，马克思从宗教批判转入政治批判和经济批判后，“对宗教的批判是其他一切批判的前提”，这一命题依然成立。马克思阐述说：

“The proof of the thoroughness of German theory and its practical capacity is this: German theory proceeds from the resolute and thorough abolition of religion. The critique of religion ends with the doctrine that man is the highest essence for man, and thus with the categorical imperative to overthrow all relations in which man is a debased, enslaved, abandoned, contemptible being.”

“德国理论的彻底性及其实践能力的明证就是：德国理论是从坚决彻底废除宗教出发的。对宗教的批判最后归结为人是人的最高本质这样一个学说，从而也归结为这样一条绝对命令：必须推翻那些使人成为受屈辱、被奴役、被遗弃和被蔑视的东西的一切关系。”

Marx’s “critique of religious alienation” was the starting point for his political critique and economic critique. As can be seen from the “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844” (hereinafter referred to as the “Manuscripts”), Marx analyzed the structure of other alienations through religious alienation. Concern for real suffering became the beacon for the deepening of critical philosophy. Marx said: “The critique of religion is the embryo of the critique of the vale of tears of which religion is the halo.” The problem of real suffering became the central concept linking religious critique with other critiques.

马克思“对宗教异化的批判”，是他进行政治批判和经济批判的出发点。从《1844年经济学—哲学手稿》（以下简称《手稿》）中可以看出，马克思通过宗教异化，分析其他异化的结构。对现实苦难的关注成为批判哲学不断深化的灯塔。马克思说：“对宗教的批判就是对苦难世界—宗教是他的灵光圈—批判的胚胎。” 现实苦难问题成为宗教批判与其他批判结合在一起的中心概念。

Marx pointed out in the “Introduction”:

马克思在《导言》中指出：

“The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness.” “After the disappearance of the truth of the beyond, the task of history is to establish the truth of the here and now. After the sacred image of man’s self-alienation has been unmasked, the urgent task of philosophy, which is in the service of history, becomes the unmasking of self-alienation in its unholy forms. Thus the critique of heaven turns into the critique of earth, the critique of religion into the critique of law, and the critique of theology into the critique of politics.” Marx emphasized that after abolishing the truth of the beyond, i.e., religious illusions, the task of history is to establish the truth of the here and now, i.e., the truth of the real world. Marx’s critique of religion turned to the critique of politics, i.e., only by overthrowing the existing unreasonable system could social suffering be eliminated.

“废除作为人民虚幻幸福的宗教，就是要求人民的现实幸福。”“真理的彼岸世界消失以后，历史的任务就是确立此岸世界的真理。人的自我异化的神圣形象被揭穿以后，揭露具有非神圣形象的自我异化，就成了历史服务的哲学的迫切任务。于是，对天国的批判变成对尘世的批判，对宗教的批判变成对法的批判，对神学的批判变成对政治的批判。”马克思强调，在废除了彼岸世界的真理，即宗教幻想后，历史的任务就是要确立此岸世界的真理，即现实世界的真理。马克思对宗教的批判转向对政治的批判，即推翻现存的不合理制度，才能消除社会的苦难。

In 1845–1846, Marx and Engels jointly wrote *The German Ideology* (hereinafter referred to as *The German Ideology*). The most important contribution of this famous work was the establishment of the historical materialist conception of history. They pointed out:

1845年~1846年，马克思和恩格斯联合撰写了《德意志意识形态》（以下简称《形态》）。这部名著最重要的贡献，就是创立了历史唯物主义的历史观。他们指出：

“This conception of history thus rests on the exposition of the real process of production, starting from the material production of life itself, and comprehending the form of intercourse connected with and created by this mode of production, i.e., civil society in its various stages, as the basis of all history; and then in describing it in its action as the state, and also in explaining how all the different theoretical products and forms of consciousness, religion, philosophy, morality, etc., arise from it, and tracing the process of their origin from that basis; thus, of course, the whole thing can be depicted in its totality (and therefore, too, the reciprocal action of these various sides on one another). It has not, like the idealist view of history, to look for a category in every period, but remains constantly on the real ground of history; it does not explain practice from the idea but explains the formation of ideas from material practice.”

“这种历史观就在于：从直接生活的物质生产出发来考察现实的生产过程，并把与该生产方式相联系的、它所生产的交往形式，即各个不同阶段上的市民社会，理解为整个历史的基础；然后必须在国家生活的范围内描述市民社会的生活，同时从市民社会出发来阐述各种不同的理论产物和意识形态，如宗教、哲学、道德等等，并在这个基础上追溯它们产生的过程。这样做当然就能够完整地描述全部过程（因而也就能描述这个过程的各个不同方面之间的相互作用）。这种历史观和唯心主义历史观不同，它不是在每个时代中寻找某种范畴，而是始终站在现实历史的基础上，不是从观念出发解释实践，而是从物质实践来解释观念的东西。”

Marx and Engels, for the first time, introduced the viewpoint of practice into epistemology and expounded the basic principles of historical materialism. In terms of the methodology of social science, the establishment of historical materialism was a change of epoch-making significance. Marx pointed out that historical materialism was the result of his combining the critique of religion with political critique, and combining philosophical research with economic research. This result, “once obtained, served as a guiding thread in my studies.” Engels pointed out that historical materialism is the science concerning real people and the development of history. Like materialist dialectics, once it emerged, it “became our best tool and our sharpest weapon.”

马克思、恩格斯第一次把实践的观点引入认识论，并阐述了唯物史观的基本原理。就社会科学的方法论而言，唯物史观的创立是具有划时代意义的变革。马克思指出，历史唯物主义是他把宗教批判和政治批判结合起来，把哲学研究和经济研究结合起来的成果。这一成果“一经得到就用于我的研究工作。”恩格斯指出，历史唯物主义是关于现实的人及历史发展的科学。它和唯物辩证法一样，一经产生，就“成为我们最好的工具和最锐利的武器。”

Examining social religious phenomena from the perspective of historical materialism, Marx pointed out in *The German Ideology*:

从唯物史观考察社会宗教现象，马克思在《形态》中指出：

“Religion has no content of its own and does not live from heaven but from earth. … If he really wants to speak of the ‘essence’ of religion, i.e., of the material basis of this fabricated essence, then he should look for it neither in the ‘essence of man’ nor in the predicates of God, but only in the material world of each stage of development of religion.”

“宗教本身既无本质也无王国。……如果他真的想谈宗教的‘本质’，即谈这一虚构的本质的物质基础，那么，他就应该既不在‘人的本质’中，不在上帝的宾语中去寻找，而只有到宗教的每一个发展阶段的现存物质世界中寻找。”

In the history of human thought, Marx and Engels, for the first time, scientifically revealed the relationship between religion and the real social foundation. According to the principles of historical materialism, religion, as a form of social ideology, is a reflection of social existence. To study the essence and laws of development of religion, one should examine the material foundation constituted by the productive forces and relations of production at each stage of development of human society, and should examine the social structure and ideology determined by the development of productive forces.

在人类思想史上，马克思和恩格斯第一次科学地揭示了宗教与现实社会基础的关系。根据历史唯物主义的原理，宗教作为一种社会意识形态，是社会存在的反映。研究宗教的本质和发展规律，应当考察人类社会每一个发展阶段的生产力与生产关系构成的物质基础，应当考察生产力发展所决定的社会结构和意识形态。

Therefore, the Marxist view on religion is the historical materialist view on religion.

因此，马克思主义宗教观就是历史唯物主义宗教观。

II. Scientific Atheism Is the Philosophical Foundation of the Historical Materialist View on Religion

二 科学无神论是历史唯物主义宗教观的哲学基础

Just as “theism” is the philosophical foundation of the idealist view on religion, “scientific atheism” is the philosophical foundation of the historical materialist view on religion.

正如“有神论”是唯心主义宗教观的哲学基础一样，“科学无神论”则是历史唯物主义宗教观的哲学基础。

Atheism is a system of thought opposed to theism; the two are mutually generative and mutually restrictive, with a long historical origin. “Atheism is the doctrine that any deity or God does not exist. This term first appeared in the works of Plato.” Since the Renaissance in the 15th century, brilliant thinkers emerged in the ideological Enlightenment movement, continuously criticizing religion and bravely challenging the core concept of religion—the domination of humans by gods. Representative figures include: Voltaire’s deism, Diderot’s rational skepticism, Hume’s agnostic empiricism, Feuerbach’s materialist atheism, and so on. The development of modern natural science and the Enlightenment currents in the humanities became the social foundation and ideological source of Marxist atheism.

无神论是和有神论相对立的思想体系，两者相生相克，具有悠久的历史渊源。“无神论是主张任何神灵或上帝都不存在学说。这一术语最初出现于柏拉图的著作中。”自15世纪文艺复兴以来，在思想启蒙运动中群星璀璨，批判宗教的思想家不断涌现，他们对宗教的核心观念——神对人的主宰，发起勇敢的挑战。其中代表人物有：伏尔泰的自然神论、狄德罗的理性怀疑主义、休谟的不可知论的经验主义、费尔巴哈的唯物主义无神论等等。近现代自然科学的发展，人文领域中的启蒙思潮，成为马克思主义无神论的社会基础和思想渊源。

Marxist atheism is called scientific atheism. This is because this thoroughgoing atheism is based on the worldview of historical materialism. If the thinkers of the modern Western Enlightenment movement shook the cosmology, epistemology, and values of traditional religion, then Marxist atheism shook the entire theoretical foundation of religious theology.

马克思主义无神论被称为科学无神论。因为，这种彻底的无神论是建立在历史唯物主义世界观基础上的。如果说，近现代西方启蒙运动的思想家们动摇了传统宗教的宇宙论、认识论和价值观的话，那么，马克思主义的无神论则撼动了宗教神学的整个理论基础。

(1) The Roots and Nature of Religion

（一）宗教的根源与性质

Scientific atheism studies religious issues and various theistic worldviews, epistemologies, and methodologies from the category of philosophy.

科学无神论是从哲学的范畴，研究宗教问题和各种有神论的世界观、认识论和方法论。

In the *Introduction*, Marx profoundly expounded the roots, nature, and function of religion. He reviewed Luther’s Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the thoughts of Hegel and Feuerbach, providing a comprehensive discussion of religious issues:

在《导言》中，马克思对宗教的根源、性质和功能进行了深刻的阐述。他梳理了路德的宗教改革、启蒙运动、黑格尔和费尔巴哈的思想，对宗教问题进行了全面的论述：

“The basis of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion, religion does not make man. Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet gained himself or has lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man, the state, society. This state, this society, produces religion, a reversed world-consciousness, because they are a reversed world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritualistic point of honor, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, its general basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization of the human essence because the human essence has no true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion.

“反宗教的批判的根据是：人创造了宗教，而不是宗教创造了人。就是说，宗教是还没有获得自身或是已经再度丧失了自身的人的自我意识和自我感觉。但是，人不是抽象地蛰居于世界之外的存在物。人就是人的世界，就是国家、社会。这个国家、这个社会产生了宗教，一种颠倒了世界意识，因为它们就是颠倒的世界。宗教是这个世界的总的理论，是它的包罗万象的纲要，它的具有通俗形式的逻辑，它的唯灵论的荣誉问题，它的狂热，它的道德约束，它的庄严补充，它的借以求得慰藉和辩护的总根据。宗教是人的本质在幻想中的实现，因为人的本质不具有真正的现实性。因此，反宗教的斗争间接地就是反对以宗教为精神抚慰的那个世界的斗争。

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”

宗教里的苦难既是现实的苦难的表现，又是对这种现实的苦难的抗议。宗教是被压迫生灵的叹息，是无情世界的心境，正像它是无精神活力的制度的精神一样。宗教是人民的鸦片。”

I believe that Marx’s above discussion contains at least three aspects of meaning:

我认为，马克思的上述论述至少有三方面含义：

First, it reveals the material roots of religious phenomena. Marx pointed out: “Man makes religion, religion does not make man.” Targeting the limitations of Feuerbach’s critique of religion, which merely reduced the essence of religion to the essence of man and understood man only as an abstract being, he pointed out: “But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man, the state, society. This state, this society, produces religion.” Therefore, religion is a product of the social foundation of its era.

第一，它揭示了宗教现象的物质根源。马克思指出：“人创造了宗教，而不是宗教创造了人。”他针对费尔巴哈宗教批判的局限性，即仅仅把宗教的本质归结为人的本质，又把人仅仅理解为抽象的人，指出：“人不是抽象地蛰居于世界之外的存在物。人就是人的世界，就是国家、社会。这个国家、这个社会产生了宗教”。因此，宗教是这个时代社会基础的产物。

Second, it reveals the nature of religion. Marx believed that religion is the self-consciousness and self-esteem of people deeply oppressed by alien forces, a fantastically inverted reflection of the real world. Later, Engels further pointed out: “All religion, however, is nothing but the fantastic reflection in men’s minds of those external forces which control their daily life, a reflection in which the terrestrial forces assume the form of supernatural forces.” Marx and Engels revealed, from the perspective of worldview, the content of religious fantasy; religious ideology is the popular logic of the real world. They clarified the nature of religion from the aspects of the subject and object of cognition.

第二，它揭示了宗教的性质。马克思认为，宗教是深受异己力量压迫的人的自我意识和自我感觉，是对现实世界的虚幻颠倒的反映。后来，恩格斯进一步指出：“一切宗教都不过是支配着人们日常生活的外部力量在人们头脑中的幻想的反映。在这种反映中，人间的力量采取了超人间的力量的形式。”马克思、恩格斯从世界观上揭示了宗教幻想的内容，宗教意识形态是现实世界的通俗逻辑。从认识的主体和客体方面阐明了宗教的性质。

Third, it reveals the social function of religion. Marx pointed out: “Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” Marx believed that the social function of religion at that time was “consolation and justification,” dissolving criticism of the existing system, both helping to maintain the existing social order and helping to console “the oppressed creature.”

第三，它揭示了宗教的社会功能。马克思指出：“宗教里的苦难既是现实的苦难的表现，又是对这种现实的苦难的抗议。宗教是被压迫生灵的叹息，是无情世界的心境，正像它是无精神活力的制度的精神一样。宗教是人民的鸦片。”马克思认为，宗教在当时的社会功能是“慰藉和辩护”，消解对现实制度的批判，既有助于维护现存的社会秩序，又有助于抚慰“被压迫生灵”。

(2) Critique of Religious Ideology and Social Revolution

（二）宗教意识形态的批判与社会革命

While Marx and Engels were co-authoring *The German Ideology*, Marx also drafted the research notes *Theses on Feuerbach* (hereinafter referred to as *Theses*). In *The German Ideology* and *Theses*, they critiqued and transcended Feuerbach’s view on religion.

马克思、恩格斯合作撰写《形态》的同时，马克思还起草了研究笔记《关于费尔巴哈的提纲》（以下简称《提纲》）。在《形态》和《提纲》中，他们批判和超越了费尔巴哈的宗教观。

Marx criticized Feuerbach’s understanding of human essence, emphasizing that human essence lies in its sociality. Feuerbach’s religious view starts from the “abstract human,” that is, explaining humans from a biological and physiological perspective. In contrast, the Marxist religious view starts from the “real human.” He said: “Feuerbach resolves the essence of religion into the essence of the human. But the essence of the human is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality, it is the ensemble of the social relations.”

马克思批判费尔巴哈对人的本质的理解，强调人的本质在于他的社会性。费尔巴哈宗教观的出发点是“抽象的人”，即从生物学、生理学上解释人。而马克思主义宗教观的出发点是“现实的人”。他说：“费尔巴哈把宗教的本质归结为人的本质。但是，人的本质并不是单个人所固有的抽象物。在其现实性上，它是一切社会关系的总和。”

Marx expanded Feuerbach’s critique of religion, namely that “religion is the alienation of human essence,” into the result of two forms of “alienation.” One is the self-alienation of human essence into an external “sacred image,” that is, illusory concepts such as God, heaven, and redemption; the other is the self-alienation of human essence into a “non-sacred image,” that is, the material and social environment in which humans live, which concretely refers to the unjust system of exploitation. Feuerbach’s Enlightenment thought only revealed the first form of alienation, whereas Marx not only elucidated the content of both forms of alienation but also argued that the second form is the foundation of the first. To eliminate the alienation of human essence by religion, it is necessary to transform the social system and economic base on which it relies.

马克思将费尔巴哈的宗教批判思想，即“宗教是人的本质的异化”，扩展两种“异化”的结果。一种是人的本质的自我异化为外在的“神圣形象”，即上帝、天国和救赎等虚幻的观念；另一种是人的本质的自我异化为“非神圣形象”，即人所生活的物质和社会环境，这种环境具体地讲就是不合理的剥削制度。费尔巴哈的启蒙思想只揭示了第一种异化，而马克思不仅阐明两种异化的内涵，并论述了第二种异化是第一种异化的基础。要消除宗教对人本质的异化，必须变革其依托的社会制度和经济基础。

Marx pointed out in the *Manuscripts*:

马克思在《手稿》中指出：

“Religion, family, state, law, morality, science, art, etc., are only particular modes of production and fall under its general law. The positive transcendence of private property, as the appropriation of human life, is therefore the positive transcendence of all estrangement—that is to say, the return of the human from religion, family, state, etc., to its human, i.e., social, existence. Religious estrangement as such occurs only in the realm of consciousness, in the inner world of the human, but economic estrangement is that of real life; its transcendence therefore embraces both aspects. It is evident, moreover, that the movement starts with different peoples according to whether the true, acknowledged life of the people is more in consciousness or in the external world, is more ideal or real.”

“宗教、家庭、国家、法、道德、科学、艺术等等，都不过是生产的一些特殊的方式，并且受生产的普遍规律的支配。因此，对私有财产的积极的扬弃，作为对人生命的占有，是对一切异化的积极的扬弃，从而是人从宗教、家庭、国家等等向自己的人的存在，即社会的存在的复归。宗教的异化是现实生活的异化，因此对异化的扬弃包括两个方面。不言而喻，在不同的民族那里，运动从哪个领域开始，这要看一个民族的真正的公认的生活,主要是在意识领域中，还是在外部世界中进行，这种生活更多地是观念的生活,还是现实的生活。”

Marx believed that “religious estrangement as such occurs only in the realm of consciousness, in the inner world of the human, but economic estrangement is that of real life.” The estrangement of real life, that is, the private ownership of the means of production that generates exploitation and oppression, is the foundation of the estrangement of the superstructure, including religion. Only through “the positive transcendence of private property” can the alienation of humans by religion return to human essence. As a social revolutionary, Marx, unlike other Enlightenment thinkers, did not abstractly discuss the psychological and historical roots of religion. Instead, he confronted the real social foundation, analyzing the function and social roots of religion from the perspective of relations of production and social systems. The sharp edge of Marx’s critique was directed at the unjust society that gives rise to religious phenomena.

马克思认为，“宗教的异化是现实生活的异化”。现实生活的异化，即产生剥削和压迫的生产资料私有制，是宗教等上层建筑异化的基础。只有“对私有财产的积极的扬弃”，宗教对人的异化才能向人的本质复归。作为社会革命家，马克思不像其他启蒙思想家那样，他不是抽象地讨论宗教产生的心理和历史根源，而是面对社会现实基础，从生产关系和社会制度方面，来分析宗教的功能和社会根源。马克思批判的锋芒直指产生宗教现象的不合理的社会。

Why did Marx critique religion as an ideology? This was a continuation and development of modern Western Enlightenment thought. In medieval Europe, the Roman Catholic Church implemented a feudal autocracy combining church and state, which suppressed the vitality of social and economic development and devastated people’s free and innovative thinking, earning it the label of the “Dark Age” of human society. Thereafter, Europe experienced capitalist movements such as the Renaissance, the Reformation, the French Revolution, and the British Industrial Revolution, which dealt a massive blow to the problem of the ideologization of religion. However, the legacy of the ideologization of religion was still inherited by bourgeois states. If Enlightenment thinkers had not critiqued religion from an ideological perspective and had not touched the fundamental social system, religion would have revived in a new ideological guise, continuing to obstruct the complete emancipation of humanity. Marx continued to critique religion from an ideological perspective, with the aim of destroying the alliance between the bourgeois state and Christianity, proposing a plan for social transformation, and establishing a new social system.

为什么马克思将宗教作为一种意识形态进行批判呢？这是近现代西方启蒙思想家的继续和发展。中世纪的欧洲，罗马天主教会实行政教合一的封建专制，抑制了社会和经济发展的活力，摧残了人们的自由创新思想，被称为人类社会的“黑暗时代”（dark age）。此后，欧洲经历文艺复兴、宗教改革、法国社会革命、英国工业革命等资本主义运动，宗教意识形态化的问题受到巨大的冲击。但是，宗教意识形态化的遗产，仍然被资产阶级国家所继承。如果启蒙思想家不从意识形态方面批判宗教，不触及根本的社会制度，宗教就会以新的意识形态借尸还魂，继续阻碍人类自身的全面解放。马克思从意识形态方面继续批判宗教，其目的是摧毁资产阶级国家与基督教的联盟，提出社会变革的方案，建立新的社会制度。

When I reread Marx’s ideological critique of religion, I still feel the power of truth penetrating history. History advances in twists and turns. The revival of contemporary religious neo-fundamentalism, expanding into the political sphere, has once again made the question of whether modern states can uphold the principle of separation of church and state a focus of attention. Since the 1970s, the revival of Christian neo-fundamentalism in the United States, allied with political conservatism, has attempted to use state power to spread the Christian gospel worldwide, creating a new crisis of separation of church and state. The “International Religious Freedom Act of 1998,” passed by the U.S. Congress, is a landmark event in which American religious forces influenced national foreign policy. Since the end of the Cold War, the core discourse of Western powers has shifted to human rights “based on religious freedom.” The Christian “universal values” have been continuously abstracted, becoming a totem of the Western-style democratic system. This symbolized “universal values” attempt to strip the core value system of society from the basic social relations of each country, turning it into a weapon of “new interventionism” on the international stage. This tendency toward the ideologization of religion has affected the development of cultural diversity in international society, causing turmoil and instability in the world.

当我重读马克思从意识形态方面对宗教的批判，仍然感到真理的力量能穿透历史。历史在曲折中前进。当代宗教新基要主义的复兴，向政治领域扩张，现代国家能否坚持政教分离的原则，再次成为人们关注的焦点。20世纪70年代以来，美国基督教新基要主义复兴，与政治保守主义联盟，企图以国家的力量，向全世界传播基督教的福音，造成新的政教分离的危机。美国国会通过的“1998年国际宗教自由法”，就是美国宗教势力影响国家外交政策的标志性事件。冷战结束以来，西方列强的核心话语，已经转向“以宗教自由为基石”的人权。基督教的“普世价值”不断被抽象化，成为西式民主制度的图腾。这种符号化的“普世价值”，企图将社会核心价值体系，从各国基本的社会关系中剥离出来，成为国际舞台上“新干涉主义”的武器。这种宗教意识形态化的倾向，影响了国际社会文化多元化的发展，造成世界的动荡不安。

(III) Atheism and Communism

（三）无神论与共产主义

Because *The German Ideology* and *Theses on Feuerbach* were not published during the lifetimes of Marx and Engels, the work that publicly announced the scientific worldview was the *Communist Manifesto* (hereinafter referred to as the *Manifesto*). In 1848, Marx and Engels jointly published the *Communist Manifesto*, which for the first time made the basic ideas of Marxism known to the world. It also marked the public announcement of historical materialism and scientific atheism. Using historical materialism and dialectical materialism as their worldview, they put forward the theory of achieving a new communist society by means of social revolution, overthrowing the existing system of exploitation, and eliminating the ultimate root of all forms of alienation.

由于，马克思和恩格斯在世时，《形态》和《提纲》未能公开发表，作为科学世界观公开问世的标志是《共产党宣言》（以下简称《宣言》）。1848年，马克思和恩格斯联合发表《共产党宣言》，第一次将马克思主义基本思想公诸于世。它也标志着历史唯物主义和科学无神论的公开问世。他们以历史唯物主义和唯物辩证法为世界观，提出通过社会革命的方式，推翻现存的剥削制度，消除一切异化现象的最后根源，实现共产主义新社会的理论。

An important feature of Marx’s exposition of atheism is its connection with the cause of communism. Marx believed that communism is atheistic from the outset. Engels gradually turned to atheism while embracing communism. Marx discussed this in the *Manuscripts*:

马克思论述的无神论有一个重要特征，即无神论与共产主义事业联系在一起。马克思认为：共产主义一开始就是无神论。恩格斯在接受共产主义的同时，逐步转向了无神论。马克思在《手稿》中论述说：

“Atheism and communism are by no means a flight from, a loss of, or an abandonment of the objective world created by human labor, of the essential powers of the human objectified in it. They are not a return to an unnatural, undeveloped simplicity. On the contrary, they are the first real emergence, the actual realization, of the human essence, of the human essence as something real.”

无神论、共产主义决不是人所创造的对象世界的消逝、舍弃和丧失，即决不是人的采取对象形式的本质力量的消逝、舍弃和丧失，决不是返回到非自然、不发达的简单状态去的贫困。恰恰相反，它们倒是人的本质的，或作为某种现实东西的人的本质的现实生成，对人来说的真正的实现。

Marx believed that atheism and communism are the true realization of human essence. Atheism transcends God and is the generation of theoretical humanism; communism transcends private property and is the generation of practical humanism. The “humanist society” envisioned by Marx has two elements: atheism in the spiritual realm and the communist system as its social foundation. Atheism and communism together constitute a beautiful future society for humanity.

马克思认为，无神论与共产主义是人的本质真正实现。无神论扬弃了神，是理论的人道主义的生成；共产主义扬弃了私有财产，是实践的人道主义的生成。马克思设想的“人道主义社会”有两个要素：精神世界是无神论，社会基础是共产主义制度。无神论与共产主义共同构成人类未来美好的社会。

Regarding the historical value of atheism, Marx believed:

关于无神论的历史价值，马克思认为：

“Atheism is humanism mediated with itself through the transcendence of religion. Only through this mediation—but this mediation is a necessary presupposition—does positive humanism, beginning from itself, arise.”

无神论是以扬弃宗教作为自己的中介的人道主义。只有通过扬弃这种中介，——但是这种中介是一个必要的前提，——积极地从自身开始的积极的人道主义才能产生。

In the embryonic stage of human society, there were no gods or religion. As human society developed, concepts of spirits gradually emerged, and religious organizations appeared, becoming a way of life in the development of human civilization. “Atheism is humanism mediated with itself through the transcendence of religion,” and “this mediation is a necessary presupposition.” Atheism, in its transcendence of religion, generates positive humanism. I believe that Marx’s exposition can be understood as meaning that, in the long history of human social development, religion, as a mediated element to be transcended, will coexist with the growth of atheism.

人类社会在萌芽时代没有神，也没有宗教。随着人类社会的发展，逐步产生了神灵观念，出现了宗教组织，是人类社会文明发展的一种生活方式。“无神论是以扬弃宗教作为自己的中介”，而且“这种中介是一个必要的前提，” 无神论在对宗教的扬弃中，产生积极的人道主义。我认为，马克思的论述可以理解为，在人类社会漫长的发展历史中，宗教作为被扬弃的中介，将会伴随无神论的成长而存在。

Regarding communism and atheism, Marx believed:

关于共产主义与无神论，马克思认为：

“Communism begins straight away with atheism (Owen), whereas atheism is at the outset still far from being communism; indeed, that atheism is still an abstraction. … Thus, the philanthropy of atheism is at first only a philosophical, abstract philanthropy, whereas that of communism is at once real and directly bent towards action.”

共产主义径直从无神论开始的（欧文），而无神论最初还根本不是共产主义；那种无神论主要还是一个抽象。——因此，无神论的博爱最初还只是哲学的、抽象的博爱，而共产主义博爱则径直是现实的和直接追求实效的。

Marx believed that the philanthropy of atheism was initially abstract and philosophical, whereas the philanthropy of communism is “real” and “pursues practical results.” Atheism is a philosophical concept, while communism is a social system. A philosophical concept can only provide abstract philanthropy; only the social foundation of communism can provide real philanthropy for human society.

马克思认为，无神论的博爱最初是抽象的哲学式，而共产主义的博爱是“现实的”、“追求实效的”。无神论是哲学理念，而共产主义是社会制度。哲学理念只能提供抽象的博爱，只有共产主义的社会基础，才能给人类社会提供现实的博爱。

Is the superstructure of communist society “the philanthropy of atheism”? From a philosophical perspective, atheism and theism are a contradictory unity, dependent on each other for existence. In 1884, Engels wrote in a letter to Bernstein: “Atheism, as the mere negation of religion, always refers to religion; without religion, it itself would not exist.” I believe that, from the logical standpoint of philosophy, Engels’ analysis of the historical role of atheism in his later years is more persuasive than Marx’s earlier exposition. The philosophical mission of atheism is to critique the illusions of religious theology, establish a scientific outlook on life and values, and promote the development of human society. As an abstract philosophical category, it will withdraw from the historical stage with the disappearance of religion.

共产主义社会的上层建筑是“无神论的博爱”吗？从哲学范畴上讲，无神论和有神论是矛盾的共同体，相依而存。1884年，恩格斯在给伯恩施坦的信中写道：“无神论单只是作为宗教的否定，它始终要谈到宗教，没有宗教，它本身也不存在了。”我认为，从哲学的逻辑性来看，晚年恩格斯关于无神论历史作用的分析，比早年马克思的论述，更具有说服力。无神论的哲学使命是批判宗教神学的虚幻、树立科学的人生观和价值观、推动人类社会的发展。作为抽象的哲学范畴，它将随着宗教的消亡退出历史舞台。

III. Socialists Are Practical Atheists

三 社会主义者是实践的无神论者

Marx and Engels pointed out that socialist society is the necessary path to communist society. However, during their lifetimes, they were unable to personally participate in the practice of socialism. Their exposition of socialist society could only remain at the stage of theoretical conjecture. Lenin led the October Revolution in Russia and created the first socialist state. In the practice of participating in socialist construction, he developed Marxism, including developing Marxist atheism.

马克思、恩格斯指出，社会主义社会是通向共产主义社会的必经之路。然而，他们在世时，没能亲身参加社会主义的实践。他们对社会主义社会的论述，只能停留在理论推想的阶段。列宁领导俄国的十月革命，创建了第一个社会主义国家。他在参加社会主义建设的实践中，发展了马克思主义，也包括发展了马克思主义的无神论。

The birth of the Soviet socialist state turned scientific socialism from theory into reality. It broke through Marx’s assumption that socialism could only occur and triumph simultaneously in developed capitalist countries. Socialism first achieved victory in a relatively backward country—Russia. Lenin said: “Now the historical moment has arrived when theory is being transformed into practice, theory is given vitality by practice, is corrected by practice, and is tested by practice.” Turning Marxist theory, including religious theory, into practice, using Marxist theory to guide practice, and creatively developing Marxist theory in practice—these are the main characteristics of Lenin’s socialist theory of religion.

苏维埃社会主义国家的诞生，使科学社会主义由理论变成现实。它突破了马克思的设想，即社会主义只能在发达的资本主义国家同时发生、同时胜利的论述。社会主义在当时比较落后的一个国家——俄国，首先取得了胜利。列宁说：“现在已经到了这样一个历史关头：理论在变为实践，理论由实践赋予活力，由实践来修正，由实践来检验。”将马克思主义理论包括宗教理论变成实践，用马克思主义理论指导实践，在实践中创造性地发展马克思主义理论，这是列宁关于社会主义宗教理论的主要特征。

Regarding the issue of socialism and religion, the Soviet socialist state faced a very severe situation. Before the 1905 Revolution, Russia was a typical autocratic state with a union of church and state. The tsarist government and the Orthodox Church jointly controlled various social, political, economic, and cultural resources. At the beginning of the 20th century, 95% of Russia’s population were Orthodox Christians. In the 1905 Revolution, the church became a willing accomplice of the tsarist autocratic system, openly calling on Orthodox believers to die for the tsar. After the 1905 Revolution, the Orthodox Church still possessed powerful influence, becoming an important social force opposing the socialist revolution. Lenin believed that clericalism was one of the most dangerous political enemies in Russia at that time. After the October Revolution, the newly born government issued decrees stripping the church of its political and economic privileges in order to establish the socialist system. At that time, almost the entire religious community participated in counter-revolutionary activities against the Soviet regime.

关于社会主义与宗教问题，苏维埃社会主义国家面临着十分严峻的形势。1905年革命前，俄国是典型的政教合一的专制国家。沙皇政府与东正教联合把持着社会政治、经济、文化等各种资源。20世纪初，俄国人口95%是东正教教徒。在1905年革命中，教会成为沙皇专制制度的得力帮凶，公开号召东正教徒为沙皇而死。1905年革命后，东正教仍然拥有强大的势力，成为反对社会主义革命的重要社会力量。列宁认为，教权主义是当时俄国政治上最危险的敌人之一。十月革命后，新生政权颁布法令，剥夺教会政治、经济的特权，以确立社会主义制度。当时几乎整个宗教界都参加了反苏维埃政权的反革命活动。

Therefore, waging a resolute struggle against the Orthodox Church, exposing the political function of religion in maintaining the autocratic system, and awakening the people from the fog of religion became important tasks for the Bolshevik Party. In the 19th century, Marx said, “For Germany, the critique of religion is essentially complete,” but in early 20th-century Russia, the ideological enlightenment movement that the bourgeoisie had failed to carry out had to be undertaken by the Bolshevik Party. Lenin’s view of religion had a strong ideological color. On the one hand, from the perspective of political struggle, he studied and attacked religion using class analysis, emphasizing that religion is the opium of the people; on the other hand, from the perspective of ideological enlightenment, he emphasized that Marxists must “form an alliance with modern natural scientists,” and that “socialism attracts science to dispel the fog of religion, unites the workers in a genuine struggle for a better earthly life, and thereby frees them from superstition about life after death.”

因此，同东正教会作坚决的斗争，揭露宗教维护专制制度的政治功能，把人民从宗教迷雾中唤醒，成为布尔什维克党的重要任务。在19世纪，马克思说“就德国来说，对宗教的批判基本上已经结束”，但是，在20世纪初的俄国，资产阶级没能开展的思想启蒙运动，要由布尔什维克党来承担。列宁的宗教观具有强烈的意识形态色彩。他一方面从政治斗争的视角，以阶级分析的方法研究宗教，抨击宗教，强调宗教是麻醉人民的鸦片；一方面从思想启蒙的视角，强调马克思主义者要“同现代自然科学家结成联盟，”“社会主义吸引科学来驱散宗教的迷雾，把工人团结起来为美好的人间生活作真正的斗争，从而使他们摆脱对死后生活的迷信。”

Facing the severe and complex situation of religious struggle, Lenin wrote important works such as *Socialism and Religion*, *On the Attitude of the Workers’ Party to Religion*, and *On the Significance of Militant Materialism*. At that time, he creatively proposed the religious theory and policy of the Communist Party in Soviet socialism. From the perspective of social practice, I believe that among Lenin’s atheism and view of religion, three important contents deserve special attention:

面对严峻复杂的宗教斗争形势，列宁撰写了《社会主义和宗教》、《论工人政党对宗教的态度》、《论战斗唯物主义的意义》等重要文献。当时，他创造性地提出了共产党人在苏维埃社会主义的宗教理论和政策。从社会实践的角度考察，我认为，在列宁的无神论和宗教观中，有三个重要内容值得特别关注：

First, the religious policy of the socialist state: separation of church and state, and freedom of religious belief for citizens. Lenin stated:

第一，社会主义国家的宗教政策：政教分离、公民宗教信仰自由。列宁论述说：

“Religion should be declared a private matter. This phrase is usually used to express the attitude of socialists towards religion. … The state should not have relations with religion; religious bodies should not have relations with state power. Everyone has full freedom to profess any religion, or to acknowledge no religion, that is, to be an atheist, as any socialist usually is. … All mention of any belief whatsoever of citizens should be completely eliminated from official documents. State funds should never be allocated to a state church, nor to church and religious bodies. These bodies should be completely free, associations of like-minded citizens having no connection with state power.”

应当宣布宗教是私人的事情。这句话通常是用来表达社会主义者对待宗教的态度的。……国家不应当同宗教发生关系，宗教团体不应当同国家政权发生关系。任何人都有充分自由信仰任何宗教，或者不承认任何宗教，就是说，像通常任何一个社会主义者那样做一个无神论者。……在正式文件里应当根本取消关于公民某种信仰的任何记载。决不应当把国家的钱补贴给国家教会，决不应当把国家的钱补贴给教会团体和宗教团体。这些团体当是完全自由的、与政权无关的志同道合的公民联合体。

Emerging from the Middle Ages, the separation of church and state and freedom of religious belief for citizens became one of the basic principles of modern state-building. To break the old system of union of church and state, Lenin emphasized the thorough implementation of the principle of separation of church and state in the construction of Soviet state power, in order to prohibit the state from forcing people to believe in religion. Lenin further proposed that religious bodies in socialist society should become “completely free, associations of like-minded citizens having no connection with state power.” This exposition has attracted special attention from contemporary Chinese religious scholars. Some scholars believe that Lenin’s exposition on “associations of citizens” is an important intellectual resource in advancing the rule of law in relation to religion.

走出中世纪，政教分离、公民宗教信仰自由，成为近现代国家建设的基本原则之一。为打破政教合一的旧体制，在苏维埃政权建设中，列宁强调彻底实行政教分离的原则，以禁止国家强迫人民信仰宗教的现象。列宁进一步提出，社会主义社会的宗教团体，应当成为“完全自由的、与政权无关的志同道合的公民联合体”。这一论述已引起当代中国宗教学者的特别关注。有学者认为，在推进宗教与法治建设中，列宁关于“公民联合体”的论述，是重要的思想资源。

Second, the proletarian party must uphold and propagate atheism. Lenin pointed out:

第二，无产阶级政党要坚持和宣传无神论。列宁指出：

“Our Party program is entirely based on a scientific and materialist worldview. Therefore, to explain our Party program, we must also explain the true historical and economic roots of the religious fog. Our propaganda must also include the propaganda of atheism.”

我们的党纲完全是建立在科学的而且是唯物主义的世界观上的。因此，要说明我们的党纲，就必须同时说明产生宗教迷雾的真正历史根源和经济根源。我们的宣传也必须包括对无神论的宣传。

“The proletarian party demands that the state declare religion a private matter, but it by no means considers the struggle against the opium of the people, the struggle against religious superstition, etc., to be a private matter.”

无产阶级政党要求国家宣布宗教是私人的事情，但决不认为同人民的鸦片作斗争，同宗教迷信等等作斗争的问题是私人的事情。

“Our Party is a league of class-conscious, advanced fighters for the emancipation of the working class. Such a league cannot and should not remain indifferent to the manifestation of ignorance and stupidity in the form of religious belief. We demand the complete separation of the church from the state in order to combat the religious fog with purely ideological weapons, with our press and our speech. One of the purposes of our organization, the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, is precisely to wage such a struggle against all exploitation of the workers by religion. For us, the ideological struggle is not a private matter, but the affair of the whole Party, of the whole proletariat.”

“我们党是争取工人阶级解放的觉悟的先进战士的联盟。这样的联盟不能够而且也不应当对信仰宗教这种不觉悟、无知和愚昧的表现置之不理。我们要求教会与国家完全分离，以便用纯粹的思想武器，用我们的书刊、我们的言论来跟宗教迷雾进行斗争。我们建立自己的组织即俄国社会民主党的目的之一，也是为了要同一切利用宗教愚弄工人的行为进行这样的斗争。对我们来说，思想斗争不是私人的事情，而是全党的、全体无产阶级的事情。”

Lenin’s exposition clearly shows that the Marxist party is the vanguard of the proletariat. Its Party program is based on a scientific materialist worldview. The propaganda of atheism is one of the Party’s tasks. The Marxist party demands the separation of church and state in order to separate religious issues from political power, so as to use ideological weapons to combat religious superstition. If, for Communists, religion were also a private matter, that would fundamentally change the nature of the Party.

列宁的论述清楚地表明，马克思主义的政党是无产阶级的先锋队。它的党纲建立在科学的唯物主义世界观基础上。无神论的宣传是党的工作之一。马克思主义的政党要求教会与国家分离，是为了将宗教问题与政治权力分离，以便用思想武器同宗教迷信作斗争。如果对共产党人来说，宗教也是私人的事情，那就从根本上改变了党的性质。

The Communist Party of China inherits and develops this important line of thought. Comrade Jiang Zemin pointed out: “Communists are atheists; the worldview of Communists should be the Marxist worldview. Communists not only must not believe in religion, but must also propagate atheism and a scientific worldview to the masses.” Comrade Chen Kuiyuan has repeatedly affirmed: “Communist Party members must respect the freedom of religious belief of the masses, but Party members must be atheists and should not worship gods or Buddha; only by adhering to the Party’s faith are they qualified to be Party members.” These resounding voices of justice are full of combat effectiveness.

中国共产党继承并发展这一重要的思想。江泽民同志指出：“共产党人是无神论者，共产党人的世界观应该是马克思主义的世界观。共产党人不但不能信仰宗教，而且必须要向人民群众宣传无神论、宣传科学的世界观。”陈奎元同志多次重申：“共产党员要尊重群众的信仰自由，但是党员必须是无神论者，不应朝神拜佛，坚持党的信仰才有资格当党员”。这些掷地有声的正义之声，充满着战斗力。

In the current field of religious studies, many studies that claim to be Marxist theories of religion reject atheism, reducing the study of atheism almost to a “lost art.” [8]8 “绝学” (jué xué) — literally “lost learning” or “extinct scholarship”; a term used to describe a field of study that has been abandoned or is on the verge of disappearing, with few or no practitioners remaining. Furthermore, a certain professor from the National Academy of Governance has written at length to argue for the rationality of allowing Communist Party members to believe in religion, proposing that “if there are believers of different religions within the Communist Party, it is not only harmless but also beneficial to improving the governance capacity of the Communist Party of China.” This professor believes: “If we continue to adopt a rigid mode of thinking and stubbornly adhere to the theory of a uniformly atheist Party, it will inevitably come into serious conflict with the current nature, guiding ideology, and historical tasks of the Party, and ultimately what will be harmed is the Party’s own ruling position.” Faced with such absurd arguments, many scholars treat them with equanimity, reflecting the tolerance and cultural diversity of contemporary society. But the voice that “Party members must be atheists” has become a rarity in the field of religious studies—should this not serve as a warning to people?

现在宗教学研究领域，许多号称马克思主义宗教理论的研究，拒绝无神论，使无神论的研究几乎成为“绝学”。还有某位国家行政学院的教授长篇大论，论证允许共产党员信仰宗教的合理性，提出“如果共产党内有不同宗教的信徒，不仅无害，而且有利于提高中国共产党的执政能力。”这位教授认为：“如果还继续采取僵化的思维模式，固守党内清一色的无神论理论，那就必然和现行党的性质、指导思想和历史任务发生严重的冲突，最终危害的将是共产党自身的执政地位。”面对这样的奇谈怪论，许多学者们以平常心看待，反映了当前社会的宽容和文化的多元。但“党员必须是无神论者”的声音，在宗教学研究领域成为稀有之声，难道不应当值得人们的警醒吗？

Third, in handling religious issues, one must always subordinate them to the general tasks of the proletarian revolution.

第三，处理宗教问题，始终要服从无产阶级革命的总任务。

Lenin said, why must the struggle against religion “be subordinated to the class struggle, that is, to the struggle for the achievement of definite practical goals in the economic and political spheres?” This is because, according to the Marxist view of religion, the oppression of humanity by religion is a product and reflection of socioeconomic oppression. “The unity of the oppressed class in this truly revolutionary struggle to create a paradise on earth is more important than the unity of the proletariat’s views on a paradise in heaven.” That is to say, the struggle against religion must not be placed above political struggle; it must be subordinated to the general task of the Russian socialist revolution.

列宁说，宗教斗争为什么“要服从阶级斗争，即服从在经济政治方面实现一定的实际目标的斗争呢？”这是因为，按照马克思主义宗教观，宗教对人类的压迫是社会经济压迫的产物和反映。“被压迫阶级为创立人间天堂而进行的这种真正革命斗争的一致，要比无产者对虚幻的天堂的看法的一致更为重要。”这就是说，宗教斗争不能置于政治斗争之上，要服从俄国社会主义革命的总任务。

Lenin proposed that socialists are historical materialists and must be adept at struggling against religion. He said:

列宁提出，社会主义者是历史唯物主义者，要善于同宗教斗争。他说：

We must combat religion. This is the ABC of all materialism, and consequently of Marxism. But Marxism is not a materialism which stops at the ABC. Marxism goes further. It says: we must be able to combat religion, and to do so we must explain the source of faith and religion among the masses in a materialist way. The struggle against religion must not be confined to abstract ideological propaganda, nor reduced to such propaganda; it must be linked with the concrete practice of the class movement aimed at eliminating the social roots of religion.

我们应当同宗教作斗争。这是整个唯物主义的起码原则，因而也是马克思主义的起码原则。但是，马克思主义不是停留在起码原则上的唯物主义。马克思主义更前进了一步。它认为必须善于同宗教作斗争，为此应当用唯物主义观点来说明群众中的信仰和宗教的根源。同宗教作斗争不应该局限于抽象的思想宣传，不能把它归结为这样的宣传；而应该把这一斗争同目的在于消灭产生宗教的社会根源的阶级运动的具体实践联系起来。

The practical problem facing Russia at that time was: “Why does religion retain its influence among the backward strata of the urban proletariat, among the broad semi-proletarian strata, and among the peasant masses?” This was a question concerning the Party’s mass line. Lenin pointed out that, in dealing with religious issues, a Marxist party must never act like bourgeois materialists: “Down with religion, long live atheism.” This seemingly revolutionary view is actually “a shallow, bourgeois, narrow culturalist viewpoint.” He gave an example: in a workers’ strike struggle, workers should not be divided into atheists and Christians. If, during the struggle, one emphasizes religious differences and engages in atheist propaganda, it would be superfluous and harmful. This is because it would hurt the feelings of religious believers, deepen divisions among the masses on religious issues, and also create religious hatred among the oppressed classes, potentially turning the Russian socialist revolution into a melee between believers of different religions and atheists. Therefore, Lenin repeatedly reminded the entire Party to “be particularly cautious” on religious issues. Strictly adhering to religious policy in dealing with the religious beliefs of the masses is a matter of the Party’s vitality.

在当时的俄国面临着的现实问题是：“为什么宗教在城市无产阶级的落后阶层中，在广大的半无产阶级阶层中，以及在农民群众中能保持它的影响”，这是关系到党的群众路线问题。列宁指出，在对待宗教问题上，马克思主义政党绝不能像资产阶级唯物主义者那样：“打倒宗教，无神论万岁”。这种貌似革命的观点其实是“一种肤浅的、资产阶级的狭隘的文化主义观点。”他举例说，在工人罢工斗争中，不能把工人分成无神论和基督教徒。如果在斗争中强调宗教信仰的分歧而大搞无神论宣传，就是多余和有害的。因为这样会伤害信教群众的感情，加深群众在宗教问题上的分裂，也会在被压迫阶级中制造宗教仇恨，可能导致俄国的社会主义革命变成一场不同宗教信徒与无神论者之间的混战。所以列宁多次提醒，全党对宗教问题“必须特别慎重。”对待群众宗教信仰问题要严格掌握宗教政策，这关系着党的生命力。

After the end of the Cold War, the historical task of adhering to the direction of socialist development and holding high the banner of Marxism fell upon the shoulders of the Chinese Communists. In the practice of socialism, developing the Marxist view of religion is also one of the missions of the Chinese Communists.

冷战结束后，坚持社会主义的发展方向，高举马克思主义旗帜的历史重任，落在中国共产党人的肩上。在社会主义的实践中，发展马克思主义宗教观，也是中国共产党人的使命之一。

Unlike the cultural traditions of Western societies, over the course of several thousand years of historical development, the Chinese nation has been rich in humanist currents of thought, with diverse and compatible religious beliefs. Political power has always dominated religious power; religion could only submit to the rule of secular authority, never becoming an independent social and political force, and mainly existed as a cultural mode in society. Therefore, during China’s New Democratic Revolution and socialist construction, the religious issue was never a principal social issue. The Chinese Communists, facing China’s concrete reality, incorporated the religious issue into the framework of the united front and properly resolved the religious issues within the revolutionary cause.

与西方社会的文化传统不同，中华民族在数千年的历史发展长河中，人文主义思潮丰富，宗教信仰多元兼容。政权始终支配教权，宗教只能服从世俗政权的统治，没有成为独立的社会政治力量，主要作为文化方式存在于社会中。因此，在中国的新民主主义革命和社会主义建设中，宗教问题一直不是社会的主要问题。中国共产党人，面对中国的具体实际，将宗教问题纳入统一战线的范畴，妥善地解决了革命事业中的宗教问题。

At present, China is in the primary stage of socialism, with a pattern where public ownership is dominant and multiple forms of ownership coexist. This socioeconomic base determines the existence of diverse ideologies and cultures. Various religious cultures are also an important factor constituting the diversity of ideology and culture. The ruling party adheres to historical materialism and dialectical materialism in its ideology, and upholds scientific atheism. How to face the various religious cultures centered on theology, and how to promote the harmonious development of mainstream culture and religious culture, is indeed a proposition that requires serious exploration. I believe that what needs to be loudly proclaimed at present is that the core socialist values should lead the trend of the times and should not be lost amidst value diversity.

目前，我国处于社会主义社会的初级阶段，生产关系是以公有制为主，多种所有制并存的格局。这种社会经济基础决定了多种思想文化的存在。各种宗教文化也是构成思想文化多样性的重要因素。执政党在意识形态上坚持历史唯物主义和辩证唯物主义，坚持科学无神论，如何面对以神学为核心的各种宗教文化，如何推动主流文化与宗教文化的和谐发展，的确是一个需要认真探索的命题。我认为，当前需要大声疾呼的是，社会主义核心价值观应当引领时代的潮流，不应迷失在价值多样化之中。

According to the viewpoint of historical materialism, the emergence, development, and extinction of religion have their historical objective inevitability. As a form of the superstructure, religion is a reflection of social reality; the root of religion’s existence lies in the needs of the real world (even if it is a illusory need). The form of religion changes with changes in the social base, and will also disappear with the disappearance of the social reality that generates the need for religion; there is no need to eliminate religion through coercive means. “Religion has no content of its own; its roots are not in heaven, but on earth; with the elimination of the distorted reality for which religion is the theory, religion will disappear of itself.”

根据历史唯物主义观点，宗教的产生、发展和消亡，有其历史的客观必然性。宗教作为上层建筑的一种形式，是社会现实的反映，宗教的存在根源在于现实世界的需要（尽管是一种虚幻的需要）。宗教的形态随着社会基础的变化而变化，也将随着产生宗教需要的社会现实的消亡而消亡,无需通过强制的手段消灭宗教。“宗教本身是没有内容的，它的根源不是在天上，而是在人间，随着以宗教为理论的被歪曲了的现实的消灭，宗教也将自行消灭。”

In the primary stage of socialism, the social, natural, and epistemological roots of religion’s existence will persist for a long time. The Chinese Communists respect the objective laws of religious development and do not use administrative force to eliminate religion. The Party’s leaders have proposed actively guiding religion to adapt to socialist society.

在社会主义社会的初级阶段，宗教存在的社会根源、自然根源、认识根源仍将长期存在。中国共产党人尊重宗教发展的客观规律，不用行政的力量去消灭宗教。党的领导者提出，要积极引导宗教向着与社会主义社会相适应的方向发展。

Marxist parties treat the resolution of religious issues as a component of the socialist construction cause. We are materialists; purely ideological education cannot replace the transformation of social practice, nor can we carry out an isolated “struggle against religion” divorced from the grand cause of socialist modernization. The task of the ruling party is to unite non-believing and believing masses, seek common ground while reserving differences, jointly advance the construction of the socialist cause, and gradually eliminate the social roots of religion’s existence, in order to realize the beautiful ideal of communist society.

马克思主义政党把解决宗教问题，列为社会主义建设事业的组成部分。我们是唯物主义者，单纯的思想教育不能替代社会实践的变革，不能脱离社会主义现代化的宏伟事业，孤立地开展“与宗教的斗争”。执政党的任务是团结不信教和信教的群众，求同存异，共同推进社会主义事业的建设，逐步消除宗教存在的社会根源，以实现共产主义社会的美好理想。

In building a harmonious socialist society, the ruling party must explore the relationship between the unity of the guiding ideology and cultural diversity. Over the 30 years of reform and opening up, due to changes in social relations and the pattern of interests, social culture has shown a trend of diversification, which is a manifestation of social vitality. Atheism and theism, religion and non-religion, one religion and another, coexist in socialist society; they can mutually stimulate, mutually tolerate, “harmonious but different,” and jointly promote social progress.

在构建社会主义的和谐社会中，执政党要探索指导思想的一元化与多样性文化的关系。改革开放30年来，由于社会关系和利益格局的变化，社会文化呈现多样化的趋势，这是社会活力的体现。无神论和有神论，宗教和非宗教，此教与彼教，共同生活在社会主义社会中，可以相互激荡，相互宽容，“和而不同”，共同推动社会的进步。

At present, the scientific development concept of “people-centered” vigorously advocated by the ruling party also contains the truth value of scientific atheism. I believe that “people-centered” has two levels of meaning in resolving religious issues.

当前，执政党大力倡导的“以人为本”的科学发展观，也包涵着科学无神论的真理价值。我认为，“以人为本”在解决宗教问题上，有两层意义。

One layer of meaning is that the ruling party takes “serving the people” as its fundamental purpose, relies on the masses of the people, and seeks happiness for the people. Believers and non-believers alike belong to the people, enjoy the same rights, fulfill the same duties, and bear the same social responsibilities; whether one believes or not should become entirely a private matter for citizens, receiving equal protection and respect; but in national decision-making, the Scientific Outlook on Development is implemented, and there is no place for gods or deities.

一层含义是，执政党以“为人民服务”为根本宗旨，依靠人民大众，为人民谋幸福。信教者和不信教者，统属人民，享有同样的权利，尽同样义务，承担同样的社会责任；信不信教，应该完全成为公民的个人私事，得到平等的保护和尊重；但在国家决策上，贯彻落实科学发展观，没有神灵和上帝的位置。

Another layer of meaning is to exalt the concept of humanism, so that as history progresses, the masses of the people gradually break away from “religious divinity” and resolutely and sincerely return to “human nature.” Engels pointed out:

另一层含义是，高扬人文主义理念，随着历史的进步，使人民大众逐步脱离“宗教神性”，坚决地、真诚地向“人性”复归。恩格斯指出：

“Man has lost his inherent essence in religion, alienating his own human nature. Now, after religion has been shaken by historical progress, he becomes aware of his own emptiness and instability. But he has no other way of salvation than to thoroughly overcome all religious ideas, to resolutely and sincerely return—not to ‘God,’ but to himself—in order to regain his human nature, his essence.”

“人在宗教中丧失了他固有的本质，使自己的人性外化。现在，在宗教由于历史的进步而动摇了之后，他才察觉到自己的空虚和不坚定。但是，他没有其他拯救的办法，只有彻底克服一切宗教观念，坚决地真诚地复归，不是向‘神’，而是向自己本身复归，才能重新获得自己的人性、自己的本质。”

Marx pointed out: “The standpoint of the new materialism is human society.” “Whether human thought has objective truth is not a theoretical question, but a practical question. Man must prove the truth of his thought in practice, that is, the reality and power of his thought.” In our cause of socialist modernization, we uphold scientific atheism, promote the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, and in the practice of moving toward a better society, prove the reality and power of our thought.

马克思指出：“新唯物主义的立脚点是人类社会”。“人的思维是否具有客观真理性，这不是一个理论问题，而是一个实践的问题，人应该在实践中证明自己思维的真理性，即自己思维的现实性和力量。”我们在社会主义现代化的建设事业中，坚持科学无神论，推动科教兴国的战略，在通往美好社会的实践中，证明自己思维的现实性和力量。

References:

参考文献:

[1]1 “Reform and opening up”: The policy of economic liberalization and external opening initiated by the Chinese Communist Party in 1978 under Deng Xiaoping. Research Center of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, ed., *Marx, Engels, Lenin on Religion*, Religious Culture Press, 2008.

[1] 国家宗教事务局研究中心编：《马克思、恩格斯、列宁论宗教》，宗教文化出版社2008年版。

[2]2 “Adapting Marxism to the Chinese context”: The official Chinese Communist Party term for the sinicization of Marxist theory to suit China’s specific conditions. *Selected Documents on the United Front in the New Era (Continued)*, Central Party School Press, 1997.

[2]《新时期统一战线文献选编（续编）》，中共中央党校出版社1997年版。

[3]3 “Young Hegelians”: A group of German intellectuals in the 1830s and 1840s who applied Hegel’s dialectical method to criticize religion and the Prussian state. Chen Linshu, *History of Western Atheism*, Central China Normal University Press, 1993.

[3] 陈麟书：《西方无神论史》华中师范大学出版社1993年版。

[4]4 “Feuerbach’s humanist view of religion”: Ludwig Feuerbach argued that God is a projection of human qualities; his work influenced Marx’s early critique of religion. Lü Daji, *History of Western Religious Theories*, China Social Sciences Press, 1994.

[4] 吕大吉：《西方宗教学说史》，中国社会科学出版社1994年版。

[5]5 The *Manuscripts*: Refers to Marx’s *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844*, an early work where he develops his critique of political economy and alienation. Li Shiju, *Contemporary Interpretation of Marxist Scientific Atheism*, People’s Press, 2006.

[5] 李士菊：《马克思主义科学无神论的当代阐释》，人民出版社2006年版。

Online editor: Jia Fei

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